Steerable trailer support



July 29, 1952 A..RONNING STEERABLE TRAILER SUPPORT 6 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed April 5, 1948 July 29, 1952 A. RONNING STEERABLE TRAILER SUPPORT 6Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1948 g s W MM @0014. PH 220 WWI/17c A.RONNING STEERABLE TRAILER SUPPORT July 29, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledApril 5, 1948 y 29, 1952 A. RONNING STEERABLE TRAILER SUPPORT 6Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 5, 1948 4004p Emmi/M6 July 29, 1952 .A.RQNNING STEERABLE TRAILER SUPPORT 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 5, 1948Patented July 29, 1 952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Y f H I 2,605,114 II Y I" Y s'rEEaABLE TRAILER SUPPORT v Adolph. Running, Minneapolis,Minn.

Application-April-5,1948, Serial N0.,18,'97ll My inventionre'lates toimprovements, in steerable rolling supports for trailer-type vehicles.

The primary object of my invention is to improve the: front end,wheeledsupports/for trailers of various kinds and to provide .a supportin which the'wheels are steerable .or dirigible about an upright axisand with 'a draft connection for the towing vehicle 'orwtractor, andwith means for selectively locking :thefsupport anddraft connectionelement to the trailer against such steering movements with thedr'aft'connection element positioned for straightaway travel. .mAs is wellknown to all whohave operated tractor-trailer vehicles the backingzof.th-ecombiriatioh is fI'E-w quently, very difflcult "to .clontroldue toa Jackknifing tendency ofzthe draft :connection. Consideri'ng,'asan'example, a. .t-ractoretrailer set .up in which the front wheelsuf'the trailer :are steered bya draft tongue-which :is pivotally-a-ttached at its forward end :toitlie'traotor, it will be readilyappreciated that in backingflup the tonguewill often'be'tu'rned to steerthe-trailer wheels setting up .a very aggravated. and aggravating,'jackknifing action so; thatthe-steering aof the trailer in its rearwardpath is difiicult, if not well high impossible. In aecordancegwith myinvention, however, the steerable connection of the-trailer is looked asa preliminary to hackin v up; with the draft tongue positioned forstraightaway travel. Then as the tractor isreversed, a much p moredirect control islhad over the trailer a-nd jackknifing is prevented aswill be readilyappreciated. j

. vAnother object is to provide an improved front end support fortrailer yehicles having means for locking the support against steeringmovements, responsive to "soeca-l-led "su13g'e .-torces, and againwithithe parts in position for straightaway travel. Asa safety featurethis-riser great importance. For example. when the trailer is heavy, oris heavily loaded, andqthe. equipment :is being oper ated at :highspeed, the application .of the brakes on the tractor vehicles has .atendency to initiate the same jackknifing action previously described,often with disastrous consequences. In accordance' with myinventionptheforward surge ,of the trailer. as'the tractor is braked'willautomatically lock the trailer support so'that it will not steer off toeither side but will *keep the trailer in. line behind the tractor. Thesubj ect matter of this-application is similar to that disclosed {in myapplication Serial No. 26,203 for steerable Trailer Front WheelMechanism, filed May 1 0, 19418 J l l i Further objects of'my inventionreside in the 7 15 c aims. or. zoo-33.5)

provision of several advantageous structures and arrangements forcarrying out the foregoing objects, all as will appear hereinafter inthe course of the following detailed specification, wherein referenceis, had to the accompanying drawings, in which-3 e Fig. 1 is a sideelevation o f-a tractor-trailer vehicular combination embodyingmyinvention.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view, showing the trailer draft tongue locked forstraightaway -travel, as the tractor is backed. I

Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryhor-izontal sectional view along the line 33 in4. 1

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical and longitudinalsectionl'partiallyiinelevation, of a trailer front end supportaccording-to my invention. Y I

Figs. 5 and Bare, respectively, fragmentary sectional views like theupper par-tof Fig. 4, show'ing electrical and fluid operated means forlocking the support.

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing a hand actuated leverlocked support.

Fig. 8 is another View similar to Fig. 4 butshowing a modified pivotmount for'the support and surge operated lock therefor. r

Fig. 9 is a detailed sectional view throughthe forwardpart of a drafttongue and showing a hand lever actuating means for a lock such as shownin Fig.8.. I c

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig 4 but again showing a modified pivotarrangement for the support. U i

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a support withan adaptor for conveniently mounting iton a conventional semi-trailer.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal plan and sectional view along the line i 2 t2Fig. 11.

Referring now more particularly and by refer-- ence characters to "thedrawing, I have shown there in Figs. -1and-2a vehicular combination of'atractor A ar-1d a trailer B adapted to be pulled by the tractor through-a draft tongue-C having a'con-ventional releasable hitch connection Dat its forward end to the'tracto'r draw bar. The trailer B includes aframe orbody E supported at the rear by the usual ground-wheels F and atthe forward end by asteerable rolling support G which will be describedin "detail herein. W-hile I have here shown a wagonliketra-ilerand far-mtractor combination to i-l'lus-trate my invention, it is to beunderstood that it will; have many other applications, within the scopeof -my invention, at least oneof which willheTdiscussedhereinafter.

' The support 6:, as shown in'Figssl-eicomprises 3 a closely spaced pairof differentially mounted wheels l5 and I6 which are journaled at therear ends of crank arms or crank axles H and 18, the forward journalends l9 and of which are journaled in vertically spaced relationtransversely in and through a gear housing or case 2|. Within saidhousing the crank ends |9 and 20 have secured thereon meshing gears 22and 23, and the arrangement is thus such that an upward swingingmovement. of eitherwheel upon its axle will beacconipa'nied by an equaldownward movement of the other.

Thus the wheels ac- 7 to lie in the same vertical, longitudinal plan ascommodate themselves to the irregularities in the road surface overwhich they travelisee Figs. 1 and 4) with a minimum verticaldisplacement of the vehicle they support. The differential mounting heredisclosed being similar to that shown and claimed in my United StatesPatent No. 2,244,853,

- issued June 10, 1941, no further description should by welds'28, in anopening 29 on the bottomof the trailer frame or body, or is otherwiseanchored to the underside of the trailer, Also forming part of thiselement is anelongatedking pin or post which depends, through the sleeve'26 for some distance'therebelowand which is a press fit or othernonrotatable fit in and through the sleeve.

The depending end of the pin 35 forms an upright bearing fora tubularknuckle or knuckle sleeve 31. extending upwardly-from the gear case 2|and to hold the partsfrom downward disassembly a lock pin 32 on thesleeve 3| passes tangentially through a circumferential groove 33 in thelower end of pin .30. The upper end of the tubular spindle. or sleeve 3|is flared outwardly, or diametrically enlarged, forming a support tableor flange Hand in this end there is placed an anti-friction thrustbearing 35 whereon rests thelower end of the sleeve 26 to transmittheweight of the forward part of the trailer down to the wheels I5 and H3.stiffening webs 36 are provided for the usual purpose vertically alongthe knuckle sleeve 3|.

The lower surface of the cap 2! and flange 34 of the respectivenon-rotatable and rotatable elements 24 and 25 are spaced apart somedistance vertically andmounted between them, co axially with thevertical axis of the assembly, is a draft transmitting member designatedgenerally at 31 having a collar 38 journaled about the bearing sleeve26, upon an intervening bushing 39. Forwardly extending from oppositesides of the collar 38 (see Fig. Bparticularly) are two arms or cars 40which are apertured at forward ends to accommodate pivotbolts 4| Thetongue C aforesaid is of tubular material and has rearwardly extendingears 42 overlapping the arms 40 and also apertured to pass the bolts 4|.The tongue is thus connected to the support G with limited freedom forvertical swinging movements about the axes of thebolts 4|. This is, ofcourse, to allow play as the tractor and trailer. travel over unevensurf-aces and also to accommodate the tongue to different hitch heightson the tractor.

The lower surface of the cap 21 and upper surface of the flange 34 haveannular grooves the notch when the wheels l5 and I6 are positioned forstraightaway travel of the trailer. Cooperating with these notches is avertical locking bar or keeper 41 the length of which is such that itmay fit loosely between the grooves 43 and 44. This locking bar 41 issupported and i actuated by a center, forwardly extending shank 48slidably but non-rotatably extending through a bearing or support. 49joining the ears 40. Adjacent the transversezaxisjof the pivot bolts 4|the shank 45 is pivoted; at 50 to a, link 5| which extends forwardlyinto the tongue 0 and which is in turn pivoted at 52 to the plunger 53'of a fluid motor 54. Said motor'has a cylinder 55 secured on thetongue'Cfand into either end of the cylinder, upon opposite sides: of apiston 56 on the plunger 53,,fluidzmay be led through conduits 51. Theseconduits :lead forwardly along thetongue Cto any suitable and well knownform of connection 58-(Figs1x1 and 2) on. the tractor A, so that fluidunder. pressure from a source (not shown) on theitractor may betransmitted to themotor' 54 =toactuate'the plunger 53 in oppositedirections under control of a valve '59, convenient to thetractorioperators hand. The opposite movements/of: the plunger 53 will,of course, be transmitted to the "shank 48 through the link 5| to movetheilocking bar 4"! in a radial direction with respect to'the axis ofthe steerable support assembly and it .will be noted that, since thepivot/58 is very close tovthe pivot axis for the tongue C, the'up'anddown movements of the forward endof the tongue will have a'minimum ofeffect upon the shank 48 and locking bar. V I

In normal operation,with the vehicles travelingforwardly,'thelocking'bar- 4! stands in the positions of Figs. 3 and 4, 01 engagedatits lower end with the lower notch 46. The draft connecting element 31will then. transmit the pull from the tractor to the support and thetrailer and will be also connected through-the locking bar to therotatable element '25; ofthe assembly. Thus, as the tractor is steered,the angular steering movements of the tonguele will be transmitted tothis element 25 causing the wheels l5 and Hi to be steeredas' neces'saryfor proper trailing, as will be readily understoode v Now when it isdesired. tozback thetrailer, fluid is admitted to the forward endof themotor cylinder 55 to urge the piston 55. and plunger 53 rearwardly andthis. motion; transmitted through the link 5|, will. urge. the shank 4'8and locking bar 41 rearwardly,1or radially inward toward thesteering'axis. Assuming the tongue C at this time tobe straightened outso thatthe wheels |5and I6 are positioned forstraightaway travel of thetrailer (Fig. 2). the locking bar 41 will now enter at its upperendinto-the upper notch 45 .locking the, member 3lto the nonrotatableelement 24 so that-thetongue cannot swing. Thus, the rearwardmotion willbe imparted to the trailer without any tendency to swing its forwardwheels and cause it to ja'ckknife as will be readily understood.

It will benoted that, as'the locking ban-41 starts to enter theupper-notch 45 to look, its lower end is moving out of the lower notch46 so that during the-"transition period the rotatable and non-rotatableelements 24 and 25 are locked together. comes. to rest fully in thenotch 45 itcompletely clears the lower notch 46 andthe lower orrotatable element 25 is then freed so that the wheels may caster about,being offset by the cranks lll8 from the steering axis, and accommodatethemselves without any steeringafiectto the, rearward travel of thetrailer. The wheels. are shown. in Fig. 2 prior to their castering aboutfrom their normal positions.

The purpose of oppositely flaring the. notches 45 and 46 is; of course,to aid in guiding the looking bar 31 into proper engagement, it beingunderstood that the bar may be urged toward either notch before itisproperly aligned therewith in certain positions of the tongue C andunder certain conditions of operation.

Referring now. to Fig. 5 of the drawing I show therein a constructionwhich differs'in that a shuttle-like lock is used instead of the radial-As the locking barthe'n l In operation, the lockingpin 86 willobviously. lock the'member fl, and the tongue-0,110 the through-acylinder ll mounted in the recess.

t I and within the cylinder the pincarries a piston indicated at 12.Fluid under pressure may be brought into either end of the cylinderselectively throu h. conduits 13 and 14 to thus obviously actuate" thepin in either direction. No source of such fluid is disclosed since itmay be oil taken from the supply upon the tractor previously referredto, or may be air taken from the brake actuating supply where air brakesare used.

type locking bar 41. Also an electrical control respects they areidentical with the parts previ-' ously described, they are designated bylike reference characters; Thus, theelement 24 has .a cap 2"! weldedtothe trailer frame or body E,an d a depending bearing sleeve 2 6 throughwhich depends theypin 38 upon which rotates the knuckle 3| of theelement 25. Said knuckle has a flanged upper ,end 34 in which is a loadtransmitting bearing 35 and between the cap 21 and. flange 34 there ispositioned a draft and steering member 31 having a collar 38, andforwardly extending ears 4!). towhich the tongue C is pivoted, in thiscase by a-single, cross pin or boltfii).

On the forward side of the member 31. forward of the. collar 38 there isa recess 8| having upper andlower openings 62 and 63 adapted tocommunicate with, and register with, upper and lower locking recessesor. notches 6'4 and 65 formed in. the respective, lower and upper facesof the cap 2'! and flange 34. Slidablymounted in the openings 62 and 63is a shuttleelike locking pin or bar 66- which is of such length that itmay enter either of the recesses 64 or 65., while-clearing the other.Asclearly shown, .the ends of the.

In Figfil I also show a substantially identical construction but inthisv case, the locking pin 66 has a center transverse slot 15 in whichplays the looped [or folded end of a. leaf, spring 16. The said springis'anchored at 11 to the collar end '58 of a hand lever- 18' which isoscillatably mounted upon the pino'r bolt 68 connecting the tongue, C tothe member 31. Thus it will be seen thatthe. locking pin will be. movedup- 1 wardly or downwardlyby swinging the upper end age (not here shown)may be extended forwardly from the lever 18 so that it may be operatedfrom the tractor. i Y

Thespring 'Hiprovides flexibility such that the lever 18 may beadjustedto either position, for urging the locking pin 66 either upwardly ordownwardly, while out of registry with the recesses 6,4, andgfit andthen when the parts move pin 86 are tapered to correspond to a similar ashape of the recesses 6d-.fi5,'again to aid in guiding the pin home. 5 I

For actuating the locking pin endwise, up wardly and downwardly, .Ihaveshown-a solenoid coil 61 in a case 68 fitted in the recess-6| andhaving a center opening slidably passing the pin. Leads or conductors B9lead'off from the coil 61 and may be connected to a battery (not shown)on the tractor for energizing the coil. By'use of a polarity reversingswitch (also not shown) the pin 66 (being, of course, made of ferroumaterial) may be moved by magnetic forces in the desired directions aswill be clearly evident.

The locking pin 66 is snapped or cammed home in either recess 64 01- 85by the action of spring pressed plungers 10 on its tapered ends, theplungersbeing mounted as clearly shown to bear inward radially onthe pinand exert an endwise around, and, register the pin with the proper re.-

cess the pin will snap into place by the action of the spring. Thismakes it possible for the. operator to adjust the lever 19 to, thedesired position, and then return to the tractor'and upon propermaneuvering thereof the pin will lock or unlock the tongue as'may. bedesired. The ar-. rangement as here=shown is thus particularly suitablefor house trailersand the like.

' In Fig. 8 I show a support which is particularly suitableforapplication to a horizontal chassis or frame element wherethe-trailer does not adapt itself-to mounting thesupport directly at itsbottom as shown in the previous drawings. In this case, thenon-rotatable element is indicated generally at 84 and the rotatableelement is designated generally at 85, the latter being connected asindicated at 86 to the steerable wheels. The element" 84 includes a'rearwardly extending arm 8'! adapted to be-secured in any'suitablemanner as by means of the bolts 88 to the chassis member and the elementfurther includes a vertical elongatedbearing sleeve 89in and throughwhich is journaled a kingpin 98. The pin 90'is nonrotatably and fixedlysecured at 91 in a flanged plate 92' which isbolted at 93 to a flange 94upon.

the connection .8 6 sothat the pin turns with the steering movementszofthe wheels. A load supporting bearing. 95. is provided between the upp rend of the 'plateQQL-and the lower end of the sleeve 89 while bushi s9,6 the pin andthe sleeve-j 7 A draft and steering member, designatedgenerally at 91 is provided and has a collar portion 98 rotatablymounted about the upper part of the beari g sleeve 89 and about abushing 99 thereon. The collar 98 has forwardly extending apertured s-1r;..a ms.-. neof w hap e s at which: the tong-ue'C is pivoted asindicated at I 0i exactly as previously described, and extendingforwardly between the ears I 00 are upper and lower arms I0 2 and- I03in which are formed openings I04 and I05 for the slidable accommodationof a locking pin I06 identical to that shown in It may be noted at thispoint that throughout the construction and modifications hereindisclosed; many elements of the combinationlar identical andinterchangeable through out .theistructure, tofa'cilitate manufacture.

The membe'r91 is positioned between a flange I01 upon the sleeve 89' anda circular cap plate I08 .whichiskeyed upon the upper end of the pin 90and held theretoby a nut I09. The flange I01 and the cap plate I08 havetapered openings indicated at II 0. and III, respectively, for selectiveen'gagementwiththe tapered ends of the locking pin I03, and itwill bereadily understood that in the .upwar ljposition of thepin as shown, themember 91 and tongue C will be released from the non-rotatable element84 to steer the wheels through the pin 90; In the oppositelower positionof the pin I06 these members will be locked to the element 35 with thedraft tongue in a forwardly extending position as previously described.It will be observed that this operation of the'pin I06 is the reverse ofthat pr vi y described and shown in Figs.'5 7 due to the fact play attheir-extremities in longitudinal elonareprovided between and I I5' totransmit thedraft to the trailer. 'In

this position, also,'th-e pins H2 and H3 will pull the operating'rod;II6 forwardly, swinging the bell crank lever I25 about its pivotI26 and urging the locking pin I06 upwardly so that it will transmitsteering movements from the tongue to the trailer wheels. Now, as thetractor is reversed, the rearward push. upon the tongue section C willslideit rearwardly moving the pins H2 and H3 in a cor resp'ondingdirection and yieldably urging the operatingrod-I IB in the samedirection through the rearspring II9. This motion.

of the operating rod I I5 is translated through the bell crank lever toa downward motion of the locking pin I06 to thus .lock theltongue in avand I I9, which are mounted exactly as previously gatedslots H4 and H5in the outer portion C urged thereagainst byexpansion coil springs I I8and H9. The forward spring H8 is held upon the rod by a nut I20. bywhich adjustment of the tension of the spring maybe made, while the rearspring II9 is engagedwith the collar I2I held in place by a pin, I22passing through the rod. A series of openings I23 may be provided forthe accommodation of the pin I22 so that adjustment ofthe tensionexerted by the rear spring may alsobe made, The rear end of the rod I I6is pivoted at I24to a bell crank lever at I25 having a downwardlydirected arm pivoted at I26 between the ears I00; immediately below thetongue pivot. IOI". The bell crank lever extends rearwardly from thepivot I24 and is pivotally attached-at I21 to the center of the lockingpin I06. In .the operation" of this form of my invention; it will bereadily understood that when draft is applied to the tongue C theforward inner section C will be drawn forwardly so that the 'pins H2 andH3 rest at the forward ends of the slots II4 An operating rod IIO playssliddescribed. The'collar I28 may be moved in forward and rearwarddirections by fork I 29rpivoted at I30 to opposite sides of thecollarand connected through a rock shaft I3I to a hand lever I32. Thehand lever I32 has the usual latch I33 forengag'ement rwithleither'of apair of notches I34 upon a'quadrant plate I35 secured to the upper sideof thetongue. Itwill bereadily un derstood that the hand lever I32 maybe moved forwardly or' rearwardly to correspondingly adjust'the rod H6and actuate the locking pin and in this 'case,- since the device is notoperated by surge forces; the tongue C need not, of course, have theaforesaid telescoping part C.

In Fig. 8 the steering support is extended some distance 'above thetrailer chassis member H which may be desirable in some cases but not inothers. .In Fig. 10 the corresponding parts are located below thismember H and in this construction the non-rotatable element isdesignated generally at I 36' and the rotatable element at I31. The"latter has a' downward extension I38 10011- nectedto the wheels aspreviously described.

The element I36 has a rearwardly extending armI39. secured beneath theframe or chassis member H and forwardly thereof has a vertical bearingsleeve I40 in which is journaled a king pin MI in bushings I42. Thelower end of the pin MI is nonerotatably anchored in a short tubularpart I44 of 'the element I31 and the upper end of the pin has a threadedcap nut I45 rotatable atop the sleeve I40. The upper end of rotatableelement I31 has a circular flange I46 in which is a bearing I41 engagingthBTlOWGI endof the downward extension of sleeve I 40' and journaled bya bushing I48 on this part of the sleeve is the collar I49 of a draftand'steering member indicated generally at I50. The element I36 also hasa circular flange I5I above the member I50 and in the flanges I46 andI5I there are formed lower and upper tappered openings or recesses I52and I53 for locking engagement by the tapered ends of a locking pin I54.Said pin I54 is slidable in upper and lower openings I55 and I56 in themember I50 (like the structure of Fig. 8) and in the lowered positionshown the locking pin locks the tongue C to the rotatableelement I38 ,9for steering theiwheelsg In an upper position, the locking iiiil entersthe recess "I53 to lock'the tongue inits straight forward position.

" For' semetingrhe locking-pins an operating .rod 157 is shown and .itmay be operated forwardly and r'earwardly"as in Fig. 8 or 9, or infactinany other suitable manner. The rear end ,of .this rod I51 ispivoted at 158 to bell crankilever vfill-pivotedat I50 and at. [6|pivotally attached'ftdthe. center. of the locking pin to move itupwardly; and downw rdl It Will be noted that this bell crank lever [58is reversed. as compared to the corresponding lever I 25 of Fig, -8.diie to the reversal in the relation Of the rotatable" and'no-rotatableparts in this construction. f

- efrring now to Figs. 11 and 12, Ishow thereina steerable front endsupport according to my invention which is designed particularly toapplication to semi-trailers when they are removed from the' tractors.Such a trailer, a body or frame bottom which, is designated at I, has aperipherally grooved, depending pin J by which it is ordinarilyconneeted to the fifth WheeLunit' (not shown). on the tractor, Forapplication to this type of trailer fmy steerable support has alcapplate I62 with a. rearwardly openingslot. ['63 adapted to fit the groovewe of saidpin land forwardly located, transversely spa'oedilugslliijvhich ,may be bolted to the traileribottomas designated at 56.Thus, a firm but readilydetachable mounting is provided.

As shown here the support, per se, is similar to thatlo fjl'iig s'.3-47, having a non-rotatable element [61 'ofwhichthe cap plate IE2 is apart,

andairotatable element 1.68. The element I6! has a bearing sleevelBi-lin which is fixed a pin ll'ilandtheeleinnt wanes a tubular" knuckleI'H journaled on thepin, A draft and steering member H2 has alcollar.I13 journaled about,

the bearing sleeve I39 between the underside of the cap,,-plate 162 andthefianged upper end .114 .of elerrient I68, and said member H2 ispivotallyconnc I ted to the draft tongue as has been, describamz.Aflocki'ri'g' pin 11s is slidably mountedginrthememb'er I12 forselective engagement-with recessesillfiand IT! in the'cap plate I andflange, [15, under, control of a bell crank W 7X and operating rod I80exactly as shown in F1 "1' Q i From the ioregoing it will be seen thatfundamentally and in its broadest aspects my invention provides-a means,either automatically, or remotely-manually controlled, for locking thesteering and drafttransmittirlg element of a trailerin position forstraightaway travel [of the trailer whenever re uired, and, particularlywhile backing. 'lhe troublesome jackknifing tendencies of all presentday hitches of my knowledge are I I V czi'ie'f' In addition thereresults i a safety factor n highspeedforward travel,

thus totally overc particularly whenQthe trailer is heavy or heavilyload-odor been; th at' if it is. necessary to apply the ;brlakes.onf.the tractor vehicle quickly in an emergency, thesteering,connectiontc the trailer maybelocked to prevent itcareening' or jaclkni-fingf, t Iv t t will be noted that throughout. all the censtruetions shown dustskirts or flanges, indicated collectively at 18!, are provided wherevernecessary-to proteetbearingsurfaces and wearingsurfaces from dust, inaccordance with accepted good practice equipment of this nature.

It'is understood that suitable modifications may be made in thestructureas disclosed, provided such modifications come withinthe spiritand scope of the appended claims. 'l lav'ing now therefore fullyillustrated and 'de'scribedimy invention, what I claim to be new anddesire, to protect by Letters Patentis: in t t I l. Asteerablewheeledlsuppo'rt for the front end of a trailer and including adraft member for connection to a"t0WiIlg, Veh iC1e, comprising a firstpart fixed to thevehicle and a second part supported by the wheels androtatable on the first part about an upright axis for steering the wlieels, a connecting, member rotatable about the said and Connected tothe draft membenand for securing the connecting member, selectively, tothe rotatable second part for transmitting draftand steeringfor'ces tothe support, and to the non-rotatable first part to prevent suchsteering movements.

=ing inemberalsojournaled about the steering axis, adraft tongue connected to saidmember and extending forwardly mamas trailer, and meansoperative to connect; said member, selectively to the non-rotatable androtatable elemerits. I

3. A steerable wheeled supporticr a trailer front end, comprising incombination, a rotatable wheel supported element, a nonrotatable elementattached to the trailer and-supporting the rotatable element forsteering movements about a generally upright axis,:a draft and steeringmember also -journaled -about the steering axis, a draft tongueconnected toysaid member and extending forwardly from the v trailer,means operative to conn ct said -membereeleotively to thenonrotatableand rotatable elements, and

. supportingwheelsfor-therotatable element positionedrearwardly-ofthe-steering axis to caster operative j to connect said rnemberselectively'to 14. A steerable thereabout when the said draft andsteering member is disconnected-from,the rotatable element. I wheeledsupportfor a; trailer front end, comprising in combination, a rotatablewheel supported element,- a non-rotatable element attached tothe-trailerand supporting the rotatable element for steeringmovements about agenerally upright axis, a draft and steering member also JQurnaled aboutthesteering axis afiraft tongue connected topsaid member andextendingforwardly fromthe trailer, means the non-rotatable and rotatableelements, supporting wheels for the rotatableelement positioned,rearwardly'ofthe steering axis tojCELStBI' necting the wheels, tothettrotatable element for thereabout when -the said :draft and,steering member, is disconnected'from the rotatable element, anddiiferentially'connectd cranks con ing member carried by the connectingmember and selectively engageable with .the said recesses to lock theconnecting member to the rotatable element when the trailer is pulledforwardly and to lock said member to the non-rotatable element as thetrailer travels rearwardly.

6. A steerable Wheeled support for a trailer front end, comprising incombination, a rotatable wheel supported element, a non-rotatableelement attached to the trailer and supporting the rotatable element forsteering movements about a generally upright axis, a draft tongueconnecting member also journaled about the said axis upon one of saidelements, the said elements each having a locking recess,. and a lockingmember operative on the tongue connecting member and normally engagedwith the recess in the rotatable element to steer the support butengageable with the recess in the non-rotatable element when theconnecting member is positioned for straightaway travel of the trailerto thereby lock the connecting member in such position. 1

7. A steerable wheeled support for a trailer front end, comprising incombination, a rotatable wheel supported element,-'a non-rotatableelement attached to the trailer and supporting the rotatable element forsteering movements about a generally upright axis, a draft tongueconnecting member also journaled about the said axis upon one ofsaidelements, the said elements each having a locking recess, and a lockingbar actuatable in the connecting member for selec tively engaging thelocking recesses and locking the connecting member to the rotatable andnonrotatable elements.

8. A steerable wheeled support for a trailer front end, comprising incombination, a rotatable wheel supported element, a non-rotatableelement attached to the trailer and supporting the rotatable element forsteering movements about a generally upright axis, a draft tongueconnecting member also journaled about the said axis upon one of saidelements, the said elements each having a locking recess, ashuttleacting locking pin carried by the connecting member andengag'eable at opposite ends selectively with the said locking recesses.

9. A steerable wheeled support for the front end of trailer, comprisinga first element secured to the trailer, a second element journaled onthe first for steering movements about an upright axis, at leastone'wheel supporting the second member, a tongue connecting memberjourtransverse plane about the same upright axis and adapted to beconnected to a towing vehicle forward'of the trailer, a lock membernormally connecting the tongue connecting member to the second elementto steerthe wheel supporting the same but shiftable to lock the tongueconnection to the first element and to hold the connecting member in astraightahead position, and a hand lever for operatingthe lock member.

10. A steerable wheeled support for the front end of trailer, comprisinga first element secured to the trailer, a second element journaled onthe first for steering movements about an upright-axis, at least onewheel supporting the second member, a tongue connecting member journeledfor swinging movements in a horizontal transverse plane about the sameupright axis and adapted to be connected to a towing vehicle forward ofthe trailer, a lock member normally connecting the tongue connectingmember to t e l2 second element to steer the wheel supporting the samebut shiftable to lock the tongue connection to the first element and .tohold the connecting member in a straightahead position, and a remotelycontrolled means for shifting the lock member. I

11. A steerable wheeled support for the front end of trailer, comprisinga first element secured to the trailer, a second element journaled onthe first for steering movements about an upright axis, at least onewheel supporting the second member, a tongue connecting member journaledfor swinging movements in a horizontal transverse plane about the sameupright axis and adapted to be connected to a towing vehicle forward ofthe trailer, a lock member normally connecting the tongue connectingmember to the second element to steer the wheel supporting the samebutshiftable to lock the tongue connection to the first element and holdthe connectin member in a straightahead position, and a remotelycontrolled hydraulically actuated means for shifting the lock member.

12. A steerable wheeled support for the front end of trailer, comprisinga first element secured to the trailer, a second element journaled onthe first for steering movements about an upright axis, at least onewheel supporting the second member, a tongue connecting member journaled for swinging movements in a horizontal transverse plane about thesame upright axis and adapted to be connected to a'towing vehicleforward of the trailer, a lock member normally connecting the tongueconnecting member to the second element to steer the wheel supportingthe same but shiftable to lock the tongue connection to the firstelement and to hold the connectin member in a straightahead position,and a remotely controllable electrically operative means for shiftingthe lock member. 7 v m 13. A steerable wheeled support for the front endof trailer, comprising a first element secured to the trailer, a secondelement journaled on the first for steering movements about an uprightaxis, at least one wheel supporting the second member a tongueconnecting member journaled for swinging movements in a horizontaltransverse plane about the same upright axis, a togue for connectingsaid member to a towing vehicle, a lock member normally connecting thetongue connecting member to the Wheel supported second element to steerthe wheel but shiftable to the first element to lock the tongue in astraightahead position when backing the trailer, a surge operated meansfor so shifting the lock member as the trailer is backed.

14. For supporting the frontend of a semitrailer while it isdisconnected from the trailer and whichtrailer is of the type having adepending grooved fifth wheel connection pin, a caster wheel supporthaving a non-rotatable part for connection to the trailer, and arotatable wheel supported part journaled for rotation on an uprightcaster axis, a tongue, means for connecting the tongue to the rotatablepart for steering the wheel support when moving forwardly and forselectively connecting the tongue to the nonrotatable part in astraightahead position leaving the support free to caster, and saidnon-rotatable part having means for detachably mounting in beneath thetrailer, and for engaging the pin thereon.

15. A steerable caster wheel support for the front end of a trailer andincluding a draft memher for connection to a towing vehicle, comprising'a first part fixed to the vehicle and a second part supported by thewheels and rotatable on the first part about an upright axis forsteering the wheels, a connecting member rotatable about the said axisand connected to the draft member, the wheels being thus mounted by saidsecond part for full circle castering action, and a locking means forsecuring the connecting member to the rotatable second part fortransmitting draft and steering forces to the support, and in another 10position securing said member to the non-rotatable first part to lockthe member against lateral and steering movements while leaving thewheels free to caster.

ADOLPH RONN'ING.

14 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

